Letter-box



f NrTED Sii/rires PATENT OFFICE.-

CHARLES F. MAIZE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. Y

SPIECIJEICATI'ON forming part of Letters `Patent No. 294,483, datedMaich 4, 1884. Y Application tiled July S10, 1883. (No model.) l

To @ZZ whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, CHARLES F.l MAIZE, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new andImprovedV` Letter-Box, of which the .followin g is a full, clear, andexact description.

My invention relates to that class of boxes in which letters,newspapers, and other matter are deposited; and the object ofthe'invention is to provide such a box having better arrangements of theparts for the introduction ofthe inail-matter and affording increasedsecurity and protection to such 'matter when deposited in the box.

The invention consists in special construc- K tions of parts ofthe box,including an arrangement of guard-plates at the opening for thenewspaper-drop, and a novel selfclosing lid for the letter-drop with animprovedhood, in which the letter-drop lid is tted, to exclude waterfrom the box; also, in an improved contrivance of' the door closing thedischargeopening at the 4side of the box, with double iiang'es fittingover a flared ange on the box, and in other details of construction, allas hereinafterly described and claimed.

i in rectangular generalform, and I provide an opening, b, in its top,and one, c, in its front for the passage of mail-matter into the box,these openings being closed by'thedrop lids or covers 'd e,respectively; and at one side of the box a door, f, is hinged at g, nearthe bottom of' the box, to swing until stopped by the' ledge h Iof thedoor striking the corner or front of the box at c', as in Fig. l. Thetop drop- I c. lid, d, is hinged suitably at d to box a, has

any suitable knob or device, d2, by which to raise it, and a fixed stop,d", to limit its open ing or backward swing by; -ntact with the box a.

rllhe letter j represents a shield plate or guard to the opening b, saidguard being hinged at k to the box a, Vor preferably along one edge ofan npwardly-projecting rim or flange, @provided to exclude rainl or'snowfrom the interior of the box. The lid d has a fixed rod, d4, which comesbeneath the upper curved portion, j', of the guard y' `wheninworking-position, so that when lid d is thrown back or open, untilarrested by stop cl3, the lower portion, jl, of the guard j will becarried about to a horizontal position, as in Fig. l, to

Vclose opening b, and form a platform or table on which newspapers orother bulky articles may be placed, to be automatically discharged intobox a by the downswing of guard j when The curved upper plate portion,jf, of guardj is made preferably of the same width as the lower part, j,or guard proper, assuch construction is quite as cheap and much strongerthan would be an arrangement vof curved arms or wires projecting upwardfrom part i2 over the rod dt, or equivalent .pins or 'stops tted to liddat the ends, as will be readily understood.'

`As the guard] falls in advance of the ltight closure of' the lid d, Ifit to the under side of the top of box c the fixed depending plate a,

along the side of opening o, opposite the hinge joints of the lid andguard, said platen serving to effectually prevent the abstraction ofmatter deposited in the box.

A man-box flaca with an opening, b, nd d,

`and guard j, and either with or without the plate a, would serve wellfor the reception ofunassorted mail-matter; but I propose to di vide thebox .a by a transverse partition, 0, into an upper newspaper and packagereceiving compartment, a', and a lower compartmentra?, speciallyintended for holding letters.

Over the opening c, through which the lett'ers are passed into the boxen Ijvfix the hood p, the top q of which slants'iiward'and downward, oris flared, to shed water toward the v body of box c, and also 'preventthe water from the side of the box from flowing over the front or faceof the hood p, which preferably IOO inclines outward and downward fromthe top, as shown, which construction prevents the entrance ot' waterwithin hood p, and through opening c, the hood having an opening, r,opposite the one, c, through which to pass the letters. rllhe openings'fr and c are closed by the cover or lid c, which is hinged to the hoodp, at a point, c', preferably above its horizontal center, so that thislid cwill close by gravity with its upper portion, et', upon the innerface ofthe front of the hood, while the lower portion, e", of the lidwill fall upon the outside face of the hood, as shown.

A weight, c", such as a heavy wire, may be fitted to or in the loweredge of lid e, to facilitate its prompt and tight closure, which is alsoaided by the backward incline of the front of the hood, and with a lid,e, thus arranged letters may readily be passed into the box a. by onehand only, leaving the otherhand free for holding articles, such assatchels, umbrellas, or packages, which is a great convenience andadvantage.

The door f, by which access is had to thc interior of the box a, isiitted on the inside with thc fiange s, at a little distance from theouter edge lange, 1, ofthe door, so that when the door is closed theiiange if, which projects from the side of the box a, around itsopening, will be inclosed between flanges s and t, to makeaweat-her-proofjoint of the doorf with the box a.; and the upper tlange,Il, and it lnay be the side fiangcs, u, also, are iiared from the faceofthe box to better shed the water, as is the top q of thehoodj), abovedescribed.

I make the wings c on the door 'f as continuations or backwardextensions ofthe side flanges, s, said wings serving to prevent aspilling of the contents of the box a when the door] is opened. Thesewings 1v may extend quite to the free end of the door j", and enterslots in the partition o, through which the mail-matter in compartment ccannot fallinto the one il below; or, if desired, the wings 11 may bedispensed with.

In practice, I shall fit the door j' with any approved spring-lock, w,to hold the door securely and self-actingly by simply closing it uponthe box, and I shall also fit or form upon the bottom of the box and thepartition o,when

used, the buttons or projections o, to facilitate the removal by hand ofthe inail-matter from the box.

My improved letter or mail box may be made of any desired size, shape,or material, as required b v the conditions of use; and it is believedthat it will be found more practical, convenient, and safe than theboxes commonly employed for like purposes.

I do not abandon or dedicate to the public any patentable features setforth herein and not hereinafter claimed, but reserve the right to claimthe same either in a reissue of any patent that may be granted upon thisapplication or in other applications for Letters Patent that l may make.

Having thus fully described 1ny invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. The combinatiomwith the box a, having anopening, b, and hinged lid d therefor, of the guard j, hinged to the boxa, and the rod df, iixed to lid d, for operating the guard by the lid,substantially as shown and described.

2. A letter-box having the outer iiange, u, and a door hinged thereto atg, said door being extended below the hinge to form aledge, I1., wherebythe door may be held open, as shown and described.

The con1bination,with the box a, having an opening, b, and lid d, fittedwith a rod, d, or equivalent devices, ot' the guard j, hinged to the'box a at 7c, and having a slot, mf, in its lower portion, j,substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination,withthe box a, provided with opening I), lid d.fitted with bar d4, and the guardj, of the pendent plate n,substantially as shown-and described.

5. A mail-box divided by a horizontal parti tion, o, into an upper andlower compartment, a a, having a single outlet-door, f, at one end forboth compartments, and two inlets-one on the top and the other on thelower half of the front of the box-said inlets having covers, as shownand described.v

(i. The doorf and mailbox a, provided with the flanges t il, upwardlyinclined toward each other, and the iiangc t, overlapping iiangc u toproduce a water-proofjoint, as described.

7. rlhe hood p,construeted with a iiared top, q, a front apertured at r,and falling inward at thetop, and a lid, e, arranged to close theopening r by gravity, and at the insideol' the hood front, substantiallyas shown and described.

S. The combination, in aletter or mail box, of the compartment ct',having an opening, b, lid d, and guard j, and the compartment a2, havingan opening, c, and hood p, apertured at o', and fitted with aninwardly-opening and self-closing lid, c, substantially as shown anddescribed.

o. F. MAIZE.

\Vitnesses:

CHARM-3s BROWN, SMH.. M. BROWN.

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